


You Won't Forget Me

by StuffRocksInnit



Category: The Inheritance Cycle - Christopher Paolini
Genre: Captivity, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-06-05
Updated: 2009-05-20
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:34:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21523795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StuffRocksInnit/pseuds/StuffRocksInnit
Summary: Katrina has been left to rot in a dark, dank cell in The Helgrind. At least, that's what she thinks, until a young dragon rider arrives to take her to the palace...Is he what he seems? And, of all things, could she have feelings for him?
Relationships: Katrina/Murtagh Morzansson
Kudos: 3





	1. A Dark, Dank Cell

The cell was dark. Hardly fit for human habitation. More like a putrid, foul smelling cave. The young, pretty girl sitting on the floor with her ankles and wrists bound in chains looked very out of place in the slime covered cave.

Katrina, by now, was used to it. Used to it, from crying herself to sleep on the floor, sitting for long hours on the cold stone, thinking.

She almost sobbed again. She still could not come to terms with her father's actions. How he had sold her freedom, how he had let them put her here, how he had let them leave her to rot. How could he, just because she hadn't done what he wished for once in her life! Just because she had someone else who cared for her, someone else who wanted to keep her safe.

But if that person's wishes clashed with Sloan's even on only one tiny detail, in his book, it wasn't happening. Just because she had wanted to be safe in The Spine. And most of all, because he hated Roran…

This time, she really did sob. Oh Roran! she thought. Where are you? Will you ever rescue me? _Or had he already forgotten her?_ whispered a little voice inside her head.

A tear ran down the side of her face, siding down into her copper hair. Somewhere from far beneath her, deep in the Helgrind, a loud Bang! echoed, reverberating around the walls of the distant church-like chamber. Katrina hardly noticed.

What did she care? She didn't really care about anything at that moment in time. She felt tired and defeated. She laid her head down to sleep, feeling a sense of hopelessness spreading through her.

It's been too long, she thought. He'll never come. I should just forget him. _That's not what he would want you to think!_ Whispered the little voice.

But this time it was too quiet to hear.


	2. The Dragon Rider In The Sun

Katrina woke with a start as the door to her tiny prison crashed back on its hinges. One of the hooded Raz'ac came striding through. Katrina scrambled to get up as the other followed in behind.

"You. Come with us," the Raz'ac rasped. "Wha-" Katrina started but was cut off by the second Raz'ac, "Shut it!"

She was marched through the tunnels of the Raz'ac's hiding place. They came out into the open cavern where the exit to the outside world lay. Katrina shielded her eyes, not used to the bright light.

Blocking the bright rays from the newly risen sun, a figure stood near the mouth of the cave. No real judgement could be made of him from just his silhouette, but it was obvious he carried a sword, and a large one.

What was also obvious was that the Raz'ac respected him, or had been forced to respect him, for the way they spoke was formal and strainedly polite. "This is the prisoner. We were told to give her to you here."

The figure gave a curt nod, and stepped forward out of the light. He was tall, about Roran's age, it seemed. His black-brown hair hung down to the base of his neck, and his eyes sparkled bright green. His skin was quite pale and his clothes were all black, except for the sword she had noticed earlier, which was a bright, blood red.

He looked at her for a moment before saying, "Where is the other man?" "The King requested that he came with us, when we leave tomorrow," the second Raz'ac stated.

The young man shrugged, and turned back to the opening in the wall. He seemed to look around for a while at the empty sky, until in the distance she thought she could hear a loud pounding coming from somewhere in the blue.

Suddenly a large animal swooped down onto the ledge, and so frightening was its appearance that Katrina let out a small cry. The young man looked round at her for a second, his face amused. She stared back, as if daring him to comment. He didn't, just turned back to the creature and started to pet the large muzzle it held down for him.

Katrina could only stare. She wouldn't have had the nerve to do that, ever! But he seemed perfectly comfortable with the…whatever it was. One of the Raz'ac poked her in the back. She stumbled forwards a few steps, still looking up at the large creature. The young man didn't look round.

One of the Raz'ac stepped forward. "I think it is time for you to leave now, is it not? The King will not want to be kept waiting." "I know that." The young man turned, and looked Katrina up and down. "The man will come tomorrow?" he asked. "It is as the King decrees," one of the Raz'ac replied silkily. The man nodded. The Raz'ac turned and were gone down a dark tunnel.

The creature lumbered forward, ducking low to avoid the low ceiling. Katrina gasped and tried to step back, but the young man grabbed her arm. She stared at him for a second, before warily turning her gaze back to the creature.

He tugged her arm suddenly, making her stumble forward again. Anger welled up inside her. How dare he? She voiced her thoughts aloud. "Get off me! I'm not going anywhere near that thiiIIINNNGGG!" her voice rose to a scream as the creature came right up to her, putting it's nose right into her face.

It looked at her with its deep ruby eyes, and all she could do was stare back. "Yes you are," said the young man somewhere off to her right. "You must ride with us back to Urú'baen."

Katrina turned her head slightly, keeping the creature in sight. "I'm not going anywhere on _that,"_ she stated. The young man sighed. "Yes, you are." "No, I'm not!" He gave her an angry glare. "You can come willingly, or I can take you there by force. It's your decision."

Katrina sighed. "What is that, anyway?" she asked, motioning towards the creature. The man glanced at it. "It's a dragon. Or should I say, _he's_ a dragon. His name is Thorn."

Katrina could only stare. Again. A real dragon? It couldn't be! Her thoughts were interrupted by the young man. "So, what's your name?" he asked. "I could ask you the same," she retorted. He raised an eyebrow. "Murtagh." "Katrina."

Murtagh turned towards his dragon, looking up at him for a minute. Then he turned back to Katrina. "Thorn says we should get going now. I'll help you up into the saddle." He walked round to the dragon's side, motioning for her to follow.

She did, and looked up at the saddle warily. "How am I supposed to get up there?" she asked. "Like this." Thorn bent his leg out into a curve, like a step. Then Murtagh grabbed Katrina round the waist and lifted her onto Thorn's leg.

She looked around, already feeling sick. "Now just step up into the saddle!" Murtagh called from below her. She grabbed a sort of handle on the top of the saddle and swung herself up into it. She sat for a moment, dazed, until Murtagh jumped up behind her.

"Strap your hands into those loops," he instructed. Katrina tried to do so, feeling Murtagh behind her strapping himself into the loops of leather that ran up his legs.

 _Stupid thing!_ She thought crossly as she struggled with the loops. Suddenly, Murtagh's hands came over hers, strapping her in safely. She looked down at their crossed hands for a moment, before he took them away.

"Hold on tight," he whispered in her ear. Unnoticed to her as she had struggled with the hand loops, Thorn had walked to the edge of the cave. The sky above Dras-Leona had opened up around them. All at once, Thorn threw himself off the ledge, opening his massive wings with a _**shoom!**_

Katrina opened her mouth to scream, but all her breath was whisked away as the dragon broke his dive and soared up through the azure sky, towards the capital, Urú'baen, where the King waited anxiously to see her.


	3. The Castle

Katrina caught her breath again and again as large cloud formations and strips and patches of bright sky whizzed and floated past. Her sickness had evaporated within the first few minutes, and now she loved the whole experience.

She could feel Thorn's muscles stretching and straining under her, the way he moved and flew. She was trying to perfect the way Murtagh leaned into Thorn's turns, rises and dives, but whereas he seemed to know which way Thorn was going to go before it even happened, she, on the other hand, was left startled by every movement.

She looked down at the landscape spread out like a patch-work quilt below her. Coming up on the horizon was a large, black dot. The closer they got, the larger it became.

As they drew closer still, the dot formed into houses and shops, the sprawl of a great city. Katrina caught her breath.

Rising above the stately houses, shops and shanty towns, was the largest building she had ever seen.

Made out of some black rock, the palace rose up straight towards the sky. It was rectangular in shape, and the top was the most curious of all. It was like a brilliant jewel, sea-green in colour. Like a giant, translucent, cloudy agate.

They swooped around the castle, then soared straight over the jewelled top and down into a hole in it's centre. Thorn landed on the cloudy glass floor with a dull thud.

Katrina looked up at the walls of jewel rising around her. "What is this?" she asked.

Murtagh looked up from where he was untying Thorn's saddle. "What?"

"These walls. Are they crystal?"

"I think so."

Katrina sighed. "You've been here how long?"

Murtagh looked curious. "Well, since I was eight."

Katrina laughed.

"What?!" asked Murtagh furiously.

"You've been here since you were eight and you don't even know what this is?!" she giggled.

"Well, it's crystal, obviously," he muttered, looking sulky.

"But you just said you didn't know what it was!" Katrina laughed even harder.

"I didn't! I said I thought it was crystal! Which it probably _is_!" said Murtagh hotly.

Katrina kept laughing until a loud 'A- _hem_!" stopped her.

A small man with watery eyes stood on the other side of the massive room, by an equally massive door. Big enough to fit Thorn through, I bet, thought Katrina.

The small man was flanked by two large, muscled soldiers, but even they looked scared at the sight of the dragon looming over them.

"A- _hem._ As I was about to say, the King commands that on arrival, the dragon rider and the prisoner will come before him _immediately_."

The man looked at them for a second. They stared back.

"Well, it says _immediately._ So get going!" he said irritably, before turning on his heel and marching away, the relieved soldiers following behind.

"Well, come on then," Murtagh called back to her, having already got halfway across the room. Katrina followed after him, with Thorn bringing up the rear.

As they all trooped through the large door and down the staircase beyond, Murtagh began to sing under his breath.

"We're off to see the King, the wonderful King of Alagaesia!"

In her head, she could hear Thorn's laughter.

"The wonderful King," she muttered, just loud enough for Murtagh to hear, "hardly."

"I could _hardly_ ," Murtagh suddenly swept her behind a tapestry, "agree more," he finished, as they walked through the secret door the tapestry concealed, and came out onto a platform.

Katrina looked down, and gasped.

A fully sized black dragon lounged on the floor below them, in a vast chamber hung with elaborate hangings and decorations of many kinds.

The most elaborate hanging was one that covered a whole wall, and was decorated with a large, detailed map of Alagaesia. Katrina thought she could see a mark where a rip had been fixed in the rather old tapestry.

"Where is he?" she breathed, hardly daring to speak at all.

She almost screamed as the dragon below pricked its sail-like ears, detecting the smallest of sounds. She was only stopped by Murtagh's hand over her mouth, which she felt glad of. She couldn't imagine what would happen if the dragon saw them.

Murtagh leaned close, so close his lips almost touched her ear as he murmured, "He's behind the wall map,"

The great map fluttered in a soft breeze coming from somewhere behind it, and Katrina saw floor on the other side.

She leaned close to Murtagh's ear and whispered, "What are we doing here?"

"I thought we should wait for a while before seeing the King." He answered.

"Why?"

"Because I can tell he's busy, and not something very nice."

Katrina was puzzled.

"How can you know that, just from walking through the castle?" she asked.

Murtagh looked grim. "The looks on everyone's faces. They all look scared, like, it's me next. So I think we should stay here, for the time being,"

Katrina was gripped by fear as the dragon moved again below.

"Why here, with that dragon? And, wait, where's Thorn gone?"

Murtagh looked down at the dragon. "Here, because no one comes here, for fear of being eaten by Shurikan."(AN: Spelling?)

"Right. I should've guessed."

Murtagh contained a small chuckle, and then the tense silence was broken. An almighty roar echoed from the room beyond the wall map. "Galbatorix," (AN: Spelling, again?) Murtagh breathed.

"I only ask little! Is it not enough that The Varden scum beat my army on The Burning Plains?! Is it not enough that those measly villagers from Carvahall out-smarted my Raz'ac, escaped my _useless_ soldiers and outrun my very best ships, making it to Surda?! Why, then, do you insist on being more useless than you already are? Have I not said that the dragon rider _must_ be captured?! And when the perfect opportunity arises, they walk into the very heart of my kingdom, they should have been lost! But no! Yet again, they escape! And I am assured they can be tracked. Yes, they will be easy to find. But again, you fail me! They have disappeared like a robin into a sea of robins! And you pathetic worms let them escape!"

Both dragon rider and prisoner were lost for words after this outburst. All did not sound well for the all-powerful king of Alagaesia. They could hear the envoys, or trackers, or whoever they were cringing and begging, most likely on their knees. But the King gave no mercy.

"I suppose I will have to find someone else to take care of that rider and his meddling cousin, and meddling bands of rebels. Guards! Seize them!"

Wails erupted from the throne room as the two men were dragged away, screaming and shouting. Katrina looked up at Murtagh with terror written all over her face.

"How can we go to see him now, when he is in such a bad mood?"

"Better to go when he asks, otherwise he will be more angry. Come on," Murtagh lead her out the door they had come through and down through the corridors swarming with slaves and servants, heads down. All seemed to shrink back as they passed.

They reached the great doors to the throne room, flanked by two guards. One looked Katrina over.

"Another prisoner to be dragged before the King," he muttered under his breath. Murtagh said nothing, and the guard nodded, pushing the door.

"My dragon will want to come through soon, too," Murtagh mumbled as the doors swung wide.

"He will be admitted," the guard grunted. Katrina and Murtagh passed beside him, and into the large chamber.

It had a high ceiling like a Cathedral, and the opposite side of the wall map hung down in the space to her left, which she knew contained that monster dragon. The rest of the darkened walls were covered in hangings and tapestries, except a section of the back wall before which rose a hideous black throne, made completely from onyx. It represented many dead bodies piled together, all making a seat on which now sat the King, squat like a toad.

He was leaned over, head in one hand, as if in deep thought or stress. He didn't seem to notice the doors open, or the two entrants walk slowly up to the base of his throne. He only came out of his reverie when Murtagh coughed, a little too loudly to be real. He looked lazily up at the doors to his hall.

"What?" he asked, staring at the doors, surprised to find no one there.

"You asked to see us," Murtagh answered quietly.

He changed his stare from the doors to them. "I did. Where is Thorn?"

"On his way."

The King smiled, more like a leer. "So this is what I had to guard so carefully, to ensure the passiveness of the rider? It seems she does not hold much value, if the Varden still move aggressively towards me…"

"I do not think all the Varden care for her as much as the rider and his cousin do," said a rasping voice from the shadows. Katrina's heart sank as the Raz'ac walked from the shadows beneath the throne.

Galbatorix's leer widened. "I thought it wise to bring your father here as quickly as possible, not tomorrow as planned. The Varden are getting too active for my comfort, and I think having all my assets at hand will keep them a little more passive, don't you? And, of course, I want all my force mustered around me, not in Dras-Leona. The rebels could attack any day, you know. Not that they'd have a chance!" He threw back his head and roared with mad laughter. Then he clicked his fingers.

Two guards walked into the room. "Take this prisoner to the room we have prepared for her," the king ordered. He leered at Katrina. "Not a dungeon, of course. I don't want you to die!" he collapsed into manic laughter again as the guards seized Katrina's arms and led her away.

She cried out, not wanting to go. As she kicked, the Raz'ac began chuckling quietly to themselves as well, and Murtagh stood where he had been standing throughout all the events, watching her go and trying to tell her silently that he did not want this.


	4. What About My Father?

Katrina sighed, and looked round the cell. It wasn't really like a cell, just a rather nice room. She had been surprised when she entered. She didn't think they would have treated her half as well as this.

The sky outside was a perfect forget-me-not blue, with the occasional cloud drifting across. Just beyond the battlements of the high wall surrounding the city she could see Thorn and Murtagh flying high over the trading route that lead north towards Dras-Leona.

 _Forget-me-not blue,_ she thought wistfully, staring into the heavens. _If only Roran hadn't forgotten me._

She knew it was wrong to think like that, and that Roran was doing everything he could to come and save her, but, most of the time, it didn't feel that way.

She had been shut up in this room for nearly a week, with only her thoughts for company. And the thoughts had mostly been in this line. Of course, this was when she was not thinking about Murtagh, or being visited by him.

He had come to see her often in the short time since the day they had come here, nearly every day. He said he was sorry about letting the guards drag her away in the throne-room, and though she had tried, she could not make him see that it was not his fault.

They talked about many other things, mostly what was going on in the world outside. Murtagh had insider knowledge, and, when he could, shared it with her.

Maybe that was why she was so fond of him. Because he took her seriously, and told her things, _important_ things.

She did not know, however, why she thought about him almost as much as she thought about her fiancée. She didn't really think of anything much about him, just the way he looked and spoke.

She wished he was here now, not out there over the trading route. She knew he came whenever he had a moment spare, but it didn't feel enough. But she knew he loved talking to her. He said that she was his only friend, apart from Thorn.

That had made her feel special, almost in the way that Roran loving her had felt so special, in those first days of young love, hiding from her father.

She had asked about her father, where he was, what kind of room he was in and what he was doing. She was told that he was in a room similar to hers, the other side of the castle. She was told that he was being questioned but otherwise left alone. He was, according to the guards, in perfect health.

She had believed this, up until today. She had been looking out of her window, like she usually did, and she had seen him outside in the courtyard, being frog-marched out of the gates.

She had felt suspicion and worry well up inside her, and decided to ask Murtagh all he knew about her father when he next came to see her.

Murtagh walked in through the door, beaming all over his face. Katrina sat up in alarm.

"What happened? Did something really good happen?" she asked eagerly.

"No, not really. I'm just happy, today was a better day than most. Just flying above the trade route, _keeping an eye on the passers-by_." He sketched quotation marks in the air with his fingers as he said the last part.

Katrina laughed. "Yes, I saw you. I was watching you for a while. Nothing else to do." her voice became a bitter.

Murtagh looked at her kindly. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll soon be out. I could ask them to bring you something from the library if you wanted?"

Katrina shook her head. "Thanks, but no. I've never been that good at reading." This was a lie, of course. Katrina had no idea how to read, but she didn't want to seem dull to Murtagh, who obviously enjoyed reading.

She hastily changed the subject. "That's not the most important thing. What do you know about my father's whereabouts?"

Murtagh looked surprised. "Nothing, really. All I was told was that he was living in a room like yours, at the opposite end of the castle."

"But I saw him being taken out through the gates!" Katrina cried, now more worried than ever. Murtagh's face clouded.

"I don't know about him being taken into the city," he said slowly, "but I will ask the king."

Katrina almost cried. "Would you? It would be so good of you, I know how horrible the king is!"

Murtagh laughed. "Hey, it's nothing. I ask him stuff all the time. Anyway, anything for you," he winked at her.

Katrina felt herself blush.

Murtagh turned to go. "I know for a fact he's not doing anything now, so I'll go and see if I can get an answer out of him. Then maybe I'll be able to bring it back to you before nightfall." He smiled one last time, and left.

 _There he goes,_ thought Katrina, _out into the outside world. But really, he's just as much a prisoner as me._ The thought saddened her, that such a lovely young man could be fated so ill. _I wonder if the king will tell him anything?_


	5. An Audience With The King

The guard silently pushed open the throne room door, and waited for the young dragon rider to pass.

Murtagh hesitated, knowing this would not be a pleasant meeting. _But I must go in,_ he thought as he began to walk, _if only for Katrina's sake. I could tell just by looking at her that she's sorely worried about her father._

Galbatorix looked up, almost surprised, and more than a little angry.

"What do you want? Have I asked for you? No. Go away." The king turned back to looking at a chart on his knee.

Murtagh took a deep breath, and then said, "I wanted to…"

"I don't care." Galbatorix snapped, motioning for Murtagh to leave him alone.

"But it's important!" Murtagh said loudly, almost shouting.

Galbatorix looked up. "What? Have we finally some good news? A captured rider, say, or rebel leader? Crushed rebel forces? A captured Varden commander, or an elf or anything good at all?!" Galbatorix's voice rose to a roar as he came to the last part, his eyes burning with rage.

"Well…um…not exactly, but…" Murtagh breathed deep, and said as fast as he could, "I was wondering what happened to that man you brought in the other day, the father of the girl you are holding prisoner as bait for the dragon rider?"

"He was taken to one of the prisons in the city." Galbatorix said, turning back to his papers. "He isn't important, and you," he turned back to look at Murtagh, jabbing a finger at him, "should be more concerned with other things, the like of which I mentioned before. Now, get out of my sight!"

Murtagh turned and walked back to the door, stopping himself from running because he knew that Galbatorix would have punished him for being a coward. But he could have run away screaming like a girl for all the notice the king would have taken of him.

As the young man slipped out of the room, the evil rider smirked to himself. He was reading reports of Varden activities, and it seemed to him that were readying them selves for war. He laughed. It was so obvious they were planning an attack on Urú'baen, so obvious!

 _A chance to finally crush them, once and for all,_ the dark king thought. He would ready his troops, man the defences, and wait for their attack. Then, as they were being exterminated, he would finish that stupid farm boy who pretended to be a dragon rider, and keep his dragon alive by dark magic, thus completing the first stage of his plan to bring back the dragons.


	6. An Argument Between Friends

Murtagh passed through the door to Katrina's room/cell with a heavy heart. He had the feeling the young girl inside would not like what he had to tell her.

Katrina jumped up from her bed beside the window, where she had been looking out at the rain. The hope showed in her eyes as she bounded over to him, crying, "What happened? Did you see the king? Did he tell you anything?"

Murtagh looked at her with sad eyes, and said solemly, "The king told me that your father has been taken to one of the city prisons."

Katrina's face fell into a shocking and frightened expression.

"Don't look like that! It's not that bad, some of the prisons in the city are really alright!" But he could see she didn't believe him.

She hung her head, and whispered, "What will happen to him?"

"I..I don't know," Murtagh admitted. Katrina turned away from him, her shoulders shaking as she cried silently. Murtagh hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't cry about it," he pleaded, wanting to make her feel better. She turned on her heel and shouted, "Why should I not cry about it? He could die there! You say it's not that bad, but we all know what Galbatorix's prisons are like! What if he dies and the last thing I ever said to him broke his heart?!" She turned and stamped across the room, flinging herself down on the bed.

"Leave me alone!" she shouted, her voice muffled by the covers. Murtagh sadly turned away, knowing she didn't want him there any more.

As he walked out, an idea came to him. _It couldn't be too hard to get them to bring him back to the castle, could it?_ He knew he couldn't ask Galbatorix, but if he was able to make it seem like the order came from him…

Katrina sobbed into her bed sheets, thinking about her father. Although she had flouted his authority, she still loved him. He was her only family, and she couldn't let him die. She hated herself for causing this, knowing that he would never have betrayed the others if she had _forced_ Roran to ask about their engagement. She felt so guilty, not only for that but for the way she had just treated Murtagh, shouting at him and seeming ungrateful when she knew it must have taken a great deal of courage to ask the king about her father for her. She only hoped he knew how grateful she really was.

 _I can't stay here._ The thought popped so suddenly into her mind, but she felt so sure of it that she reasoned, long afterwards, that she must have known what she was going to do long before her conscious mind realised it. _I must run away._


	7. Escape And Rescue

The sky was midnight blue, and Katrina's plan was about to come into action.

She had already knotted together all the bed sheets to form a rope. She had asked for lots of blankets and other things on the pretence of being cold, then, as she had asked for more and more, it had been concluded that she must be ill, and many more were brought. And as well as that, the motherly lady who had been in before had said she was to have rest, and that no one was to disturb her.

She tied the make-shift rope to the head of her bed and tested its strength. She just hoped it would hold, it seemed pretty strong…

She opened the window wide and looked down on the darkened courtyard. No one was around, and no moon shone to reveal her to the sentries standing watch on the ramparts of the outer wall that surrounded the castle.

She held the rope tight and turned back into her bedroom, standing on the windowsill. She silently prayed that she would not die, and then leaned back and stepped carefully with one foot down onto the wall. Then she stepped with the other, leaning her full weight on the rope.

It held.

She began the slow descent, praying and hoping all the way. The rope wobbled a bit at times, and Katrina thought it was the end, but it held her weight all the way to the ground.

She stepped off the wall and looked around carefully. No one was in sight, so she left the rope hanging and ran as quietly as possible to the outer gate.

It wasn't open, but she knew there was secret door just to the side, unguarded and unlocked, built by the Forsworn for when they needed to get out of the castle secretly. No one knew about it, so when the Forsworn died it had stayed unlocked as Galbatorix had more important things to worry about than sending someone to lock a gate no one knew about.

It was protected by magic, so no one could easily discover it. Most just walked past, until the day Murtagh had scanned the castle with magic and found it. He had used it to sneak out into Urú'baen at night, just to be outside of the castle. Katrina thanked him dearly for it as she sneaked through.

She ran down the main street, using shadows for cover. She was aiming for the biggest of the city's prisons, where she supposed her father would be. She wasn't sure her plan would work, in fact it almost defiantly wouldn't, but she was going to try.

Murtagh sighed impatiently as he regarded the nervous man in front of him. He had come to the biggest prison in the city, where Katrina's father, Sloan, resided.

He had told the man guarding the gate that he was there on the king's business, and he had let him in. But when he had asked to see the man in charge, he had been told to wait and was to be watched over by this annoying man.

The man shifted uncomfortably and Murtagh head ached again. He had had a headache since this morning and it was only now that the pain had subsided enough to come here. He hoped the pain wouldn't give a short temper.

"Um…err…" the man shifted nervously, looking for something intelligent to say in front of the dragon rider. Said dragon rider gave him a scathing look and turned away.

At that moment, another prison guard appeared.

"We have been instructed to let you see the prisoner," he stated. "Please come this way." Murtagh followed out after him, leaving the annoying man relieved to be out of his presence.

Murtagh took in the face of Katrina's father, Sloan. He was pale and gaunt, not exactly a picture of health. _I can talk,_ thought Murtagh. _I may not look as bad as him, but I'm certainly not great, either._

Sloan looked up at him. "What do you want? I already told them all I knew."

Murtagh tried to make his expression open and friendly, while saying, "I've come to take you back to the castle."

Sloan snorted. "For more torture? I already said I told you everything. I don't know any more."

"No, I'm taking you back because King Galbatorix is concerned for your welfare."

Sloan let out a cold laugh. "Concerned, is he? And my uncle was a dragon rider. That king couldn't give a bloody damn about me. Why am I _really_ being taken back to the castle?"

Murtagh felt annoyance creep into his voice as he answered, "That's the reason, and I can give you no other. Now, come." With that, he turned and made his way out of the door, motioning for the guards to help Sloan out after him.

Katrina looked up at the prison. A sense of foreboding welled deep inside her. She didn't want to do this, and yet she had no choice. She _must_ rescue her father.

She quietly crept round to the back of the prison, where the yard was, and looked up at the wall. There was no way she could climb it. But how else could she get in? She decided to take her chances.

Grabbing the first sticking out brick she could see, she looked for a place for her feet. She found them, stood on them and wavered precariously. Then she looked up the wall for the next hand- and foot-holds. She pressed on up the wall, the climb becoming increasing harder.

She rested for a moment on a secure hand-hold and looked down, convinced that she had made it at least halfway up the wall. She was dismayed to find that she had actually only done a minimum of ten feet.

It was at that moment that she heard a shout from behind her. In looking round, she felt her hands lose their grip on the stonework. With a piercing scream, she felt herself lose her grip entirely and fall backwards through the air.

She half-heard another shout from below, before she hit something. She and that something then tumbled to the ground all in the space of a few seconds.

She lay, dazed. She felt something warm underneath her. It was only when this warm something began to move under her that she grew worried. She pulled herself up out of her stupor and rose unsteadily to her feet, trying to regain her sight. She then realised that the reason she couldn't see was because it was so dark.

"Finally you got off me!" an annoyed voice sounded from the floor. Katrina froze in shock.

"Murtagh? Is that you?"

"Luckily for you." He grumbled. She sensed him stand up next to her. "And not so luckily for me."

Katrina laughed. "I'm sorry."

"Oh well. At least I did take the time to enjoy a little freedom and walk down here, or you would be seriously stuffed," His voice grew angry. "What were you thinking? Sneaking out, sneaking through the city in the middle of the night, and trying to climb a solid brick wall? You could have got yourself killed, not to mention captured!"

Katrina bristled. "Well, I only wanted to get out of that hell-hole and free my father. Is that so much of a crime?!"

Katrina was sure that if she could have seen his face, Murtagh would be looking at her with shocked disbelief. The same emotions rang in his words.

"Not so much of a crime?! Now I really see you're mad. You didn't seriously think you could get your father out of here, did you?"

"Well, at least I tried!" Katrina half shouted, wanting her voice not to be heard but at the same time wishing she could scream at him at the top of her lungs.

"What do you mean by that? Am I not the one who has gotten your father out of this jail, and back into a room at the castle? All at my own personal risk?"

Katrina was struck dumb. Murtagh had done all that, just for her. She was glad of the darkness that hid her blush.

She heard Murtagh sigh.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Murtagh was silent, so she continued, "I didn't know."

"Hmmm. Well… We better get back to the castle. Hopefully no one's noticed how you got out yet." She felt his hand brush the back of her's, then he gripped it firmly and lead her into the dark.


	8. A Searching We Will Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone. If there still is an everyone to say hi to, after the time I've taken updating this.
> 
> I would like to say that I'm really sorry for being so lazy. I would blame it on Writer's Block, since that's sort of the case, but I'm also just too lazy and have been working on something else which is basically prattling on and not really going anywhere…I've also been working on another thing which is funny (I hope) but doesn't have a very good storyline…Sigh…
> 
> Oh well, hope you enjoy. Although I don't really know where this is going, so any ideas would be well appreciated (and I know that's sorta cheating, but what can I say?)

"Where exactly is my father?"

Murtagh sighed and ran a hand over his face. Now Katrina had been given free run of the castle, she was almost turning into an item of furniture in his room.

"I don't know. I can't remember." Katrina puffed out her cheeks and made a weird expression. Murtagh laughed.

Katrina cocked her head. "What?" Her confusion seemed to amuse him even more.

"What was that about?"

"What?"

"That!"

"Don't laugh! It's meant to ward off evil spirits!"

Murtagh chuckled humourlessly. "Hun, those things never work." Katrina scowled and said nothing. "What do you want anyway?"

"I want to know where my father is."

"Well then go look for him."

"Why are you being so unhelpful? What's wrong with you today?" Katrina asked exasperatedly.

"Nothing. I'm always like this."

Katrina shook her head. "You're not."

Murtagh smiled and turned to her. "Well what am I like?"

"I don't know…Sort of…Nice and…" Katrina faltered and blushed. Murtagh smirked. "Anyway, what does it matter?" Katrina said, a little defensive.

Murtagh spread his hands and shrugged, "It doesn't."

Katrina sighed, relieved. "Well, how can we find out where my father is?"

"Well, I should know, but I can't remember at present. I guess, till I remember, we'll just have to search."

"Great." Katrina moved over to the door. "Shall we go?" Murtagh got up and followed her out. They walked down the hall outside Murtagh's room and stopped at the end of it. Katrina looked right and left.

"Where do we go now?"

"I guess we'll start with the west side. It's where all the less good accommodation is." Murtagh headed off down the corridor with Katrina only a step behind.

As she drew level, Murtagh asked, "So, how did you win enough favour with the King for him to let you be allowed out of your cage?"

Katrina frowned. "I don't know. He just said I could. Which is good, really. It was getting deathly dull in that room, with nothing to do!"

Murtagh laughed. "I guess you just caught him in one of his rare moods of generosity. They're few and far between, so think yourself lucky!" They both laughed, and headed off down the corridor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so it was a filler. But it had a sort of cute moment. 'Bonding'. Hmmm…
> 
> I promise in the next chapter we shall have a father and daughter reunion, where hopefully some more of the story will come out. I'm now hoping to end this quickly and get onto something else, so the ending may not be as good as I hoped it would be. But you can live with that, can't you? Hopefully you can.
> 
> Sorry again about the crappy chapter. It did move the story on a little, I suppose…
> 
> Please review. Thanks for looking.


	9. Finding And Crying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. I paused this story for a while, but I just felt like writing another chapter. Hope it doesn't disappoint.

Door. Another door. And another. And yet another. And hey, guess what, yet another door. And a mouse. No, just kidding, it was another freaking door. _When do we get outta here?_ Murtagh thought.

Of course, there would be no getting out until Katrina finally found her father, no matter how many hours it took. She would probably keep on looking throughout the night if she had too.

"Come on Murtagh, stop dallying! We need to look in this corridor, too!" Murtagh sighed and followed her.

_Five hours later._

"Katrina, please stop now. We should get to bed," Murtagh pleaded as Katrina strode down yet another hall.

"No," Katrina shook her head forcefully. "I'm not stopping until I find him. Now, look in this one."

Murtagh shook his head too. "I need to go to bed now. And so do you. We can't stay up all night, Katrina." He had thought she might, _might_ being the key word.

Katrina whipped round to face him, suddenly seething. "I am not going until I find him!" she repeated, now shouting. Murtagh winced.

"Please, Katie, don't wake the whole castle. I'll be for it if you do."

"Well then don't bother me with your talk of _giving u,_ " Katrina spat, turning back to face the door. "Now, search this one." Murtagh did as he was instructed, reaching out with his mind into the room.

"There's no one there."

"This one."

"Still no one."

"And this one?"

"Someone...Oh, gods. I _hope_ that's not your father."

Katrina gave him a weird look. "Why?"

"Don't ask. Seriously." Katrina huffed and turned around the next corner. Murtagh trailed after her with a defeated air.

"Come on Tag, hurry up! He could be in this one!"

"Or he couldn't, and we're just wasting our time, _again_." Murtagh muttered angrily to himself as he probed his mind into the room. Then he jumped. Someone was in this room, someone very much akin to the description Katrina had given him. He probed further into the man's mind, digging for a glimpse of memory that would show him what he needed. He felt the man shift uncomfortably, and then something distracted Murtagh's attention. There was a memory here. He dived into it, and at once was vividly reliving the experience of this man.

There, in his thoughts, was Eragon, standing bold as brass in front of a long counter that was stacked with meat. _Meat,_ Murtagh thought. _Wait, Katrina said he was a butcher!_

Murtagh could have left then, but the memory Eragon was too interesting to ignore. He watched Eragon and Sloan's conversation, as Sloan chucked him out of the shop and another man came and stuck up for him. Murtagh chuckled at Eragon's helplessness.

He then sifted through all of this man's, now know as Sloan's, memories. He found many of Eragon. He savoured them, seeing Eragon grow up through this man's eyes. The indifference that was the beginning and the hate that clouded the end. Even through these memories of his brother, he still picked up on the butcher's overriding love for his daughter.

At the end of his literal trip down memory lane, Murtagh came back to himself in the corridor next to Katrina. She was staring at him anxiously, and it occurred to Murtagh that he had probably worried her greatly, standing there with his eyes unfocused and ignorant to the world around him.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice quavering. "Who was in there?"

"It's him." Murtagh said simply. Katrina gasped and her hands flew to cover her open mouth. Her eyes filled with tears. Murtagh pulled up in his reach for the door handle. "What's up?" he asked, concern clouding his features.

"It's nothing; it's just..." Katrina hid her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook. Murtagh stood next to her dumbly, not having a clue what to do. What _did_ you do with a crying woman? Luckily the problem was soon sorted as Katrina took her hands away from her face and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She sniffed once, then moved to open the door.

"Wait." Murtagh caught her wrist about an inch from the door. "Are you sure about this?"

Katrina gave him a withering glare. "Of course I'm sure about this," she snapped, her voice having regained it's previous force. "He's my father." Murtagh let her hand go, and she opened the door.

Inside the room was almost exactly the same as Katrina's, if maybe a little less fancy and nicely furnished. The bed was just across from the door, and on it sat what Murtagh took to be an old man.

"Father!" Katrina cried as she flung herself across the room towards him. Sloan lifted his head.

Katrina stopped dead in her tracks, horror contorting her features. Murtagh flinched back from the sight.

" _What have they done to you?!_ " Katrina shrieked, clearing the distance between them in a single bound. She sat down on the bed next to her father and wrapped her arms around him.

Murtagh was still stuck to the door frame in fright. _The Raz'ac pecked his eyes out!_ Murtagh shrieked inside his head. He worked his mouth up and down a few times, trying to breathe.

 _That is disgusting. Those hateful creatures!_ Thorn hissed in his head, his hatred for the foul beings pouring across their link.

_I...I know._

_You're still shocked._

_Aren't you?_

_I am angry. If we weren't bound in this way, I would purge those foul creatures from the earth with one swipe and let no patch of ground be befouled with their touch ever again._

_It would be a better world if that were so._

Murtagh returned to the present, seeing Katrina and her father on the bed. Sloan was crying out and laughing, his voice choked, embracing Katrina and caressing her cheek.

"Oh dear daughter, forgive me. I see now what an evil I have done. Driven by jealously and anger, I acted rashly and without proper thought. Can you ever forgive me?" Katrina choked a sob and hugged her father, and they remained like that for several minutes. Murtagh moved back through the open door and out into the hall, giving them some privacy.

"Murtagh?" Katrina called.

He walked back through the open door, seeing her on the bed still, her father staring blindly at her.

"Yes?"

As his sightless eyes turn to the sound of his voice, he tries not to recoil. The hollows have been covered by a cloth bandage, but you can still tell what they are. It makes him shiver to think of it.

"My father..." she trailed off, lost for words. He shook his head sadly.

"There's nothing I can do, even with magic. I'm so sorry."

Katrina ducked her head gracefully for a moment, then lifted it again, the fire back dancing in her eyes. "Don't worry. We'll manage."

Murtagh nodded and stepped out. A few moments later Katrina joined him. Worry danced in his eyes as he asked, "Are you sure you're alright?"

Her lip wobbled for a moment, and her eyes shimmered with tears. She opened her mouth to say something, but her voice hitched in her throat and finally the tears she had been holding for so long fell and flowed down her face. Murtagh said nothing, just quietly gathered her in his arms and hugged her, her tears wetting his shirt as she sobbed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quite an exciting chapter, I think. I like some of the language I used there. Sorry if it seems a little weird at the end, I've just been reading wildskysong's great Mur/Nas story and it's in (I think) the third person so I had to adjust...So sorry if it sounds weird.
> 
> Thanks for reading.


	10. Back To Helgrind, Goodbye and Farewell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. I really want to finish this now, so I'm probably going to end it here. Sorry if this chapter is a disappointing ending.

Nothing could be done about her father. She knew that. Murtagh had said that.

But no matter how many times she told herself this, she still couldn't help looking. After all, it was just _looking._ Nothing came up, and she began to lose hope steadily until she no longer even set foot inside the library. It wasn't worth the disappointment.

Her father got better, as time progressed. He was happier when she came to see him, and they walked together in the gardens, Katrina describing the flowers and plants that bloomed.

They were both happy.

Murtagh, however, grew slowly more depressed. He hated himself for serving the king, and killing so many people including Oromis and Glaedr. Katrina tried to cheer him up, talking to him for hours, but no matter how much she questioned him, he still remained as mute as before.

Which is why when he came to her with the order to take her and her father back to the Helgrind, she was beside herself.

"Murtagh, you can't take me. I can't go, I can't leave you here!" Murtagh just sighed and looked away. Katrina grabbed his hand. "Murtagh listen to me! I need to stay, to help you."

Murtagh shook his head. "It's not an option, Katrina. I have to take you back to Helgrind. Both of you."

"But father is too weak to go!"

"It's been a year! How much more time does he need?"

"I don't know. But we can't go. And why do we have to anyway?"

Murtagh sighed. "Because the king thinks you will be more of a lure to Eragon there than here. He would not dare set foot near this place, but he may try to save you from Dras-Leona."

"But that's even more reason why we can't go!"

"How do you expect me to tell the king that?" Murtagh burst out. "You expect me to just walk right up to him and tell him not going to take you? How stupid do you think I am? I'm taking you to Dras-Leona, and that's final. Get your stuff together. We leave in an hour." And with that he stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

And they did leave, Katrina giving Murtagh the cold shoulder the whole way.

They set down at the entrance to the tunnels. There were no Raz'ac as they had been killed when Eragon, Saphira and Roran had first attacked. The expectation was that they would be waiting to hear if Katrina was moved back. Spies within the city were leaking the news into every gossip and bartender's ear, so by the end of the week it would be all over town. Hopefully they would fall into the trap.

Thorn dropped down onto the hard floor and crouched so his riders could dismount. Murtagh hopped down and reached up to help Katrina, but she batted his hand away and got down herself, helping her father after her. She then stood glaring at him.

"Well, go on then. In there. You know where to go."

She gave him one last glare and then disappeared into the tunnel, leading her father. Murtagh watched her go with sad eyes.

_You will miss her._

_I will. She has been a comfort to me._

_Do not worry. I will still be here._

Murtagh smiled at his dragon. _I know. We'll always have each other, right?_

_Always._

Murtagh drew another long, heavy sigh. _I suppose I had better go lock the doors._

_Try and make up with her._

Murtagh turned to look at his dragon in surprise. _What?_

_Make up. Say you're sorry._

_I can't- I mean, I don't –_

_Just go in there and say it. Then no one can blame you for not trying._

Murtagh huffed and walked into the black mouth of the tunnel. He followed it until he met the doors. Walking to the right one, he locked it. Sloan was locked in. Then he came to the second. He paused outside, hesitating. Should he go in there? Probably. Did he have the courage to?

 _You're a dragon rider,_ he thought. _Not a mouse._

He took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

Katrina stood on the other side of the room. She turned and glared the minute he entered.

"Come to lock me in my chains?" she asked scathingly.

"No." He shook his head. "I came to say sorry."

She looked shocked. "What?"

"I'm sorry this happened to you, and that I was so unpleasant. I wish you the best. I hope Eragon and Roran manage to save you." He turned to leave, but turned at the sound of his name.

Katrina hit him hard, wrapping her arms round him in a tight hug. "I'm sorry," she sobbed into his chest, "you have it so much worse than me, and I was being so selfish." She continued crying while Murtagh held her to him.

"It's alright. I was stupid." She shook her head but said nothing.

Eventually he let her go. "I have to leave now. I must be back at Uru'bean by sunset." Katrina nodded and sniffed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

On impulse, he bowed to her, and said, "Atra esterní ono thelduin, mor'ranr lífa unin hjarta onr, un duevarínya ono varda. Atra gülai un ilian tauthr ono un atra ono waíse sköliro frá rauthr. Sé mor'ranr ono finna."

She looked surprised to say the least, but bowed in return. "Thank you." They looked at each other for a moment, before Murtagh enveloped her in a tight hug.

"Stay safe." He whispered before letting her go. "And may the light walk your path." With that he turned and left, looking back at her before he closed the door. He locked it with a final clunk, and returned to his dragon with a heavy heart.

 _You made up?_ Thorn asked.

_Yes. Yes, we did._

Thorn grumbled contentedly and Murtagh climbed onto his back. As the mighty dragon crawled to the cliff edge to take off, his rider looked back into the tunnel. _May you find peace, Katrina, friend of my heart._

That was why he was the only one elated the next week when the news came of the Helgrind prisoners being freed in a surprise sneak attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop! Story finished! And I don't think it was such I a bad ending as I thought it would be.
> 
> So, as I have finished, a few thanks.
> 
> A great many thanks to all my readers and reviewers, I wouldn't have had the movtivation to complete this story without you.
> 
> And thanks of course to the lovely people who run and the ever lovely Christopher Paolini for writing Inheritance. We are all in your debt.
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


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